New opportunities for genetic code expansion in synthetic yeast

Abstract

The synthetic yeast, Sc2.0, is nearing completion as consolidation of all 17 synthetic chromosomes into a single cell advances. This organism will be the first synthetic eukaryote and provides a highly plastic biological chassis built from the bottom-up using principles of biological design. This synthetic approach to genome construction has allowed the genetic code to be re-wired in this background to liberate the amber stop codon as a dedicated triplet for encoding non-canonical amino acids. The availability of an expanded set of amino acid building blocks allows precise control of protein structure and function, providing new opportunities to develop protein-based therapeutics, materials and catalysts. In this article, we review the challenges facing genetic code expansion research in yeast and highlight how the development of Sc2.0 provides new and exciting opportunities to address existing limitations.